Policy Areas

EADTU supports, through its expertise and service centres, higher education institutions in developing structures for continuing education that can fit the realities of professional life. EADTU offers new institutional strategies and business models for organising lifelong learning.

EADTU stimulates research collaboration and valorisation in online and open learning by organising thematic research groups in advanced areas. This includes joint preparation of research and innovation projects, collaborative programmes for PhD students in postgraduate schools and the exchange of research staff.

EADTU is building on a long tradition in ‘openness’ in education. Openness refers to open accessibility, open licensing policy, open entry, open pedagogy and freedom of place, pace and time of study as well as affordable education. EADTU is exploring the field of Open Education and MOOCs. To support these new developments EADTU launched OpenupEd.

EADTU supports various initiatives and projects on networked curricula and virtual mobility. Virtual mobility is an innovation in mobility to provide students access to international course offerings and an international experience online, in a fully facilitated mobility scheme. It concerns mainstreamed networked curricula across boundaries.

The knowledge economy needs people with the right mix of skills. Responsibility to stimulating the development of the right skills must be shared between businesses, educational providers and other stakeholders. Flexible learning approaches are necessary to improve the quality and relevance of higher education to the labour market.

There is an increased demand for quality references and quality instruments with specific criteria applicable to open, online and flexible learning. EADTU offers two quality instruments, i.e. E-xcellence and OpenupEd label, to promote excellence in the use of ICT in higher education.